editions (1969, 1977), retitled Conn's Biological Stains, were by Ralph Dougall Lillie, who added many dyes and chromogenic reagents and provided extensive tables of data for classification, nomenclature and solubilities of dyes. The tenth and most recent edition of the book (edited by Horobin & Kiernan 2002) has 28 chapters by multiple authors; 18 are by Horobin alone. The BSC has also sponsored three editions of History of Staining, originally by Conn and later by Clark and Kasten. Education about stains is another mission of the BSC. Questions sent in by way of the BSC's website are passed on to appropriate experts and answered privately by email, usually within a few days. This free service provides confidential information to users, vendors and manufacturers, and also informs the BSC about current problems. In December 2018 the BSC added to its website an online glossary of hundreds of words and short phrases used in the field of biological staining. This was revised and enlarged in 2021. The annual meetings of the BSC are held on the first or second weekend in June, in cities easily accessible by air from major centers in North America and Europe. These meetings include scientific sessions with presentations by invited speakers in such disciplines as cancer biology, neuroscience, pathology and plant sciences. There are also informal presentations and exchanges of information among academic biologists, medical scientists, pathologists, and representatives of companies that manufacture and sell biological stains. The invited presentations planned for meetings in 2020 and 2021 were postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. References Conn HJ (1980–1981) The history of the Stain Commission. In 5 parts: Stain Technology 55: 269–279, 327–352; 56: 1–17, 59–66, 135–142. Horobin RW, Kiernan JA (eds): Conn's Biological Stains, 10th ed. Oxford, UK: BIOS.. Penney DP (2000) A brief history of the Biological Stain Commission: its founders, its mission and the first 75 years. Biotechnic & Histochemistry 75(4): 154–166. Penney DP, Powers JM, Frank M, Willis C, Churukian C (2002a) Analysis and testing of biological stains – the Biological Stain Commission procedures. Biotechnic & Histochemistry 77: 237–275. Penney DP, Powers JM, Willis C, Frank M, Churukian C (2002b) Methods for testing biological stains. Ch. 28 in Horobin RW, Kiernan JA (eds): Conn's Biological Stains, 10th ed. Oxford, UK: BIOS, pp. 417–425. . References External links Biological Stain Commission Histochemistry Histology Histotechnology Microscopy organizations Microbiological media Staining Scientific organizations established in 1922